Tightening device for ski binding



July 3, 1956 H. ECKEL 2,753,138

TIGHTENING DEVICE FOR SKI BINDING Filed Aug. 28, 1952 I77 V8 72 t 0 I H6492 ka cl Ec I'QZ W e 2,753,188 United States Patent Ice 1 i member 8. The. forward end. of the. stretcher lever. 6

TIGHTENING' DEVICE. FOR. SKI BINDING Heinrich Eckel', Munich, Germany Application August 28, 1952, Serial No. 306,861 Claims priority, application" Germany'Novemb'er 1'7, 1951 4" Claims. (Cl. 280-1135) This invention relates to ski bindings. of the kind comprising a resiliently arranged boot heel cable operated by a front stretcher mechanism...

Prior constructions of. this; kind have not been satisfactory as they usually include helical tension springs which are liable to. permanent. deformation under overload, and when under stretch leave exposed openingsbetween the spring coils in which dirt and ice can lodge, also they present unsightly projecting parts.

The primary object of the present invention is to avoid these and other disadvantages.

According to the present invention the boot heel cable is connected to a central rod having thereon a compression helical spring bearing at the front end on a collar on the rod and at its rear end on a tension member connected to the operating lever of the stretcher mechanism. Apart from the advantage of using a compression spring the coils of which are closed in the working condition of the device, the stretcher mechanism is of narrow and preferably enclosed construction, since in the working condition the said spring is completely covered on the top and at the sides by the operating lever and the tension member. The compression spring is easily replaceable, as it is not fixedly connected to the other parts of the mechanism.

Further objects of the invention are that the collar which forms an abutment for the spring may be in the form of a nut engaging screw threads on the adjacent end of the central rod, and that the front end of the rod is held down and guided by a guide fixed on the ski body.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of an elastic buffer between the rear end of the compression spring and the tension member which latter is jointly connected to the operating lever. This buffer is traversed by the central rod and apart from its bufifer action, it has the advantage that the central rod, when the operating lever is opened, is moved rearwards by friction so that the cable can easily be disengaged from the boot heel.

A constructional example of the stretcher mechanism for a ski binding, according to the invention, is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figs. 1 and 2 show the complete binding, in side elevation and top plan respectively;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation showing the front stretcher mechanism in open position, and

Figs. 4 and 5 are cross-sections taken on lines 4--4 and 5-5 of Fig. 3 respectively.

The boot heel cable 1 is fixed by means of a connector member 2 to a central rod 3 of the front stretcher. The front stretcher comprises a base plate 5 screwed on the ski body 4 and having a guide portion 5 of U or dovetail shape at its forward end. The base-plate has two lateral up-turned lugs 5" in which the stretcher lever 6 is pivoted by means of bolts or rivets 7. The lever 6 is forked at its end nearer the pivot and the forked portion is jointed by means of bolts or rivets 9 to a tension and: the tension member 8, are of. U-shape cross-section,

open downwardIy.. The tension. member 8 is closed. at. its rear end in the; form. of a cap. having an opening. in.

its. rear wall. 8' through which the central. rod 3 extends.

On the rod. 3 isv arranged a helical compression spring,

10 which in the simplest. construction. may bear at its. rear end against the. Wall 8' ofthe. tension member 8 and. at. its front. end against a. collar 11. on. the rod. 3. In. the illustrated example the collar 11. constitutes anut. threaded. on screw threads formed. on. the end of. the rod 3. Between the collar 11'. and the spring. 10 there is interposed an eye piece. 12 having its base part 12" slidably disposed in. the guide 5'.

When; the stretcher lever 6,. Fig. 3-,. is. turned forwardly to the position. shown. in; Figs, 1 and 2,. the cable. 1: is tensioned', the rod 3 being sustained in the tension. member 8. by means of its collar. 11. and. the compression spring 10. On opening. the stretcher lever. the helical.

spring, 10 is relaxed so that the. cable. 1. along with the central rod 3' canbe drtawnt rearwards.

In the. illustrated. example an elastic buffer. 13,. of rubher or the equivalent, is inserted in the rear end of the tension member 8, which buffer may be in the form of a ring traversed by the rod 3. The rear end of the helical spring 10 bears against the buffer 13 with interposition of a plate 14 having side lugs 14' extending through holes or slots 15 in the side walls of the tension member 3, see Fig. 5. In position of use both the elastic buffer 13 and the compression spring are under load. When the stretcher lever 6 is opened, then the buffer 13 expands slightly, the lateral lugs 14 arrive at the ends of the slots 15 and bear against said ends so that on further rearward movement of the tension member 8 the elastic bufier moves backward also. Since friction is present between the rod 3 and the buffer 13, the rod also thereby Will be carried rearwardly, and the cable loosened even at the opening of the lever 6.

As seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the members 6 and 8 in position of use form an externally smooth and continuous housing in which the rod 3 and the helical spring are covered and protected. For completeness it is explained that the base plate 5, instead of having a guide portion 5', may have upwardly extending flanges or be made tubular in order to guide the front end of the rod 3 and to hold it down.

I claim:

1. A ski binding comprising a boot heel engaging cable, a rod extending centrally of the ski attached to said cable at one end, a helical compression spring on said rod, a collar on the other end of said rod against which one end of said spring abuts, an operating lever pivoted on the ski, a tension member jointed adjacent one end to said lever and having an abutment, and an elastic buffer movably mounted on the rod and in the tension member, said tension member being U-shaped in cross section with the open side directed downwardly and the force of the helical spring abutting against the elastic buffer, and the rod being provided with a screw thread on the other end of the rod in engagement with the collar.

2. A ski binding comprising a boot heel engaging cable, a rod extending centrally of the ski attached to said cable at one end, a helical compression spring on said rod, a collar on the other end of said rod against which one end of said spring abuts, an operating lever pivoted on the ski, a tension member jointed adjacent one end to said lever and having an abutment at the other end for the other end of the spring, and an elastic buffer mounted on the rod between the abutment and the other end of the tension member, said abutment and buffer being movable relative to the rod when the tension member is actuated to release the force of the spring and permit the cable to slack for removal of a shoe from the ski, the elastic buifer being in the form of a ring member mounted and extending around the rod and movable relative thereto so that when the binding is released, the tension memberwill be angularly movable relative to the rod.

3. A ski binding comprising a boot heel engaging cable, a rod extending centrally of the ski attached to said cable at one end, a helical compression spring on said rod, a collar on the other end of said rod against which one end of said spring abuts, an operating lever pivoted on the ski, a tension member jointed adjacent one end to said lever and having an abutment at the other end for the other end of the spring, and an elastic buffer mounted on the rod between the abutment and the other end of the tension member, said abutment and bufier being movable relative to the rod when the tension member is actuated to release the force of the spring and permit the cable to slack for removal of a shoe from the ski, the abutment being in the form of a plate with side lugs which project through and are slidable in slots in the tension member for limited movement therein.

4. A ski binding comprising a boot heel engaging cable, a rod extending centrally of the ski attached to said cable at one end, a helical compression spring on said rod, a collar on the other end of said rod against which one end of said spring abuts, an operating lever pivoted on the ski, a tension member jointed adjacent one end to said lever and having an abutment at the other end for the other end of the spring, an elastic buffer mounted on the rod between the abutment and the other end of the tension member, said abutment and buffer being movable relative to the rod when the tension member is actuated to release the force of the spring and permit the cable to slack for removal of a shoe from the ski, a guide provided on the ski, and an eye piece provided around the rod and movable in the guide to maintain the said other end of the rod near the ski.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 373,640 Brill Nov. 22, 1887 1,904,102 Thompson Apr. 18, 1933 2,117,433 Krebs May 17, 1938 2,628,397 Olson Feb. 17, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 52,792 France M June 12, 1944 (1st Addition to No. 868,333)

235,302 Switzerland Mar. 16, 1945 239,400 Switzerland Jan. 16, 1946 255,732 Switzerland Feb. 1, 1949 

